Work stations used in conjunction with a vise are employed in a number of industries including the manufacture of prosthetic and/or orthotic devices. One such work station can be in the form of or associated with an elongated bar. A vise typically having a pair of opposed jaws can be used to lock the work station therebetween. The jaws of the vise are moved into locking engagement with side surfaces of the work station and if sufficient force is applied to the jaws in a single direction, the work station will remain secured.
However, there are work operations, such as hammering and the like, which place a significant force against the work station. If the force against the work station resulting from the work operation exceeds the locking force applied by the jaws against the work station in a single direction, then the work station can become dislodged from the vise.
If the work station becomes dislodged, the jaws must be loosened and the locking operation performed again using an even greater locking force. Thus, the dislodging of the work station results in the loss of production time.
There is another detriment that arises with conventional assemblies of vise associated work stations. The force applied to the work station, if sufficient to dislodge the same, can also cause damage to the jaws including the stripping of the threads used to apply the torque necessary to provide a locking force to the jaws.
A conventional solution to the problem is to apply an even greater unidirectional locking force to the work station. However, this approach to the problem is only short-lived and can eventually result in even more significant damage to the vise.
It would therefore be a significant advance in the art of work stations used in conjunction with a vise to provide an arrangement for locking the work station in a manner in which multiple locking forces in multiple directions are applied to the work station. As a result, the work station cannot easily become dislodged under severe work operations such as hammering and the like.